The arrest of 24-year-old Marine Daniel Penny has caused many to doubt the fidelity of New York courts and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Following indicting former President Donald Trump — elevating 34 misdemeanor charges to felonies and not revealing the specifics of the alleged crimes — Bragg has charged Penny with second-degree manslaughter.
If convicted, Penny faces up to 15 years in prison.
Fueling discord is that Penny is white and Neely is black. Before the facts were available, several legacy media outlets and civil rights and government leaders, including Al Sharpton and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, claimed this was a hate crime, demanded “justice” and called for Penny’s arrest.
A typical headline read: “Former Marine Charged in Street Performer’s Chokehold Death on NYC Subway, Freed Pending Trial.” Neely’s extensive criminal record and violent tendencies were typically not highlighted.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said New York officials should drop all charges against Penny. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis strongly endorsed a GoSendGo defense fund that has garnered about $2,000,000 in less than a week for the Marine.
On Tuesday, Penny’s attorney provided additional information on the circumstances of Neely’s death.
In his first televised statements, Penny’s attorney, Steve Raiser, told Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro that Penny is a hero not a villain. Raiser faulted city leaders for creating an environment where mental health issues, homelessness and violent crime are prevalent.
More than 9,400 officers have left the NYPD in recent years — some because of COVID policies and others because of the lack of support and bureaucratic defund the police efforts. The results include a spike in violent crime and an explosion in homeless and mental health issues.
Official reports show that victims reported 169 felony assaults on the New York City subway the last year. The high-crime area invites bad conduct: Security officers did not monitor who was boarding the subway, and no officers were assigned to the subway car when the attack occurred.
Neely had no difficulty boarding the subway despite his previous 40 arrests — including two vicious unprovoked attacks on seniors and the attempted kidnapping of a 7-year-old girl. Having demonstrated violent behavior on a subway in the past, he apparently believed he could threaten others again without consequence.
After shouting he was going to hurt someone and that he did not care if he died, Raiser said that, according to witnesses, Neely began “swinging his arms at passengers” in a threatening way. When Neely approached passengers, Penny stepped in to stop a perceived attacker.
Penny placed Neely in a submission hold after what The Daily Wire described as “an aggressive rant” by Neely, which included his “screaming that he did not care if he went to jail.”
When Pirro asked what Penny was thinking at the time, Raiser replied:
“He was fearful for the safety of those passengers. So when he acted, his mindset was to keep his fellow passengers safe from attack. Neely entering the train and acting in a very violent manner, both physically and with words. He would say things to the effect that, you know, I need certain things, I need food, I need this or that.”
“And if I don’t get it, I don’t care if I go to prison for the rest of my life. And the passengers actually have said that they interpreted that to mean, well, when would you go to prison for the rest of your life if you kill somebody? So everybody got the message.”
Raiser said that the situation rapidly escalated with Neely shouting, threatening, throwing his jacket down as if preparing to fight, and “swinging his arms at passengers.”
There was no security available to assist — no time to consider multiple options — so Penny stepped in to stop what he believed was an imminent attack.
Raiser expressed skepticism about the grand jury that was hastily assembled despite being told jury members would go through “a very deliberate process.” Reportedly the jury was assembled the night before Penny, who officers initially questioned and then released, was asked to surrender.
When told that Penny needed to surrender “tomorrow,” Raiser said, “What do you mean tomorrow, this was going to be a long process. Suddenly it’s tomorrow?”
Penny did surrender to authorities and is now free on $100,000 bond.
When asked about the rumors that Penny’s actions were racially motivated, Raiser pushed back: “None of that is based on the facts,” he said. “As to race, it’s simply not the motivation for Danny.”
Raiser continued: “[Penny] is the one that put himself in danger, to save who? All the people on that train. Black people, brown people, white people, it didn’t matter to Danny. Danny put his life at risk to save all those people. It has nothing to do with race.”
Scroll down to leave a comment and share your thoughts.
